By Charlie Egli '20

BEREA, OH. – On a night where three Baldwin Wallace University women's soccer seniors celebrated their illustrious careers as student-athletes, the visiting University of Mount Union Purple Raiders spoiled Senior Night at George Finnie Stadium.

The Purple Raiders (9-6, 6-2 OAC) scored three goals in the first half en route to an 3-1 victory over the Yellow Jackets (10-6-1, 4-4 OAC) in the Ohio Athletic Conference solidifying their hold on the No. 4 seed in the OAC.

After Mount Union scored their first goal in just the seventh minute, the Yellow Jackets looked to respond. Senior midfielder Cassandra Waickman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) would put the first shot on goal on the board for the Jackets but was unable to convert.

For the rest of the game, Mount Union would dominate ball control, and mainly played in Baldwin Wallace's third of the field and held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for nearly 70 minutes.

It wasn't until the 69th minute that senior three-time All-OAC and Academic-All OAC forward Rachel Bender (Massillon/Jackson) was able to strike, and score her 13th goal of the season off an assist from sophomore midfielder Alex Guido (Macomb, Mich./Eisenhower), her fourth assist on the season.

After receiving her bouquet Bender did her best to make plays happen, collecting seven shots and numerous assist attempts but the Purple Raiders defense were able to sniff most of them out.

Yellow Jacket's junior Academic All-OAC goalkeeper Emma Bruno (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) would save seven-of-ten shots on goal, including a perfect four-for-four in the second half, but the three that snuck past her would prove costly.

Baldwin Wallace looks to rebound on Saturday with their season finale at Marietta College which could decide their postseason fate. The Yellow Jackets need at least a tie to make it into the OAC Playoffs.